KOCHI: Slapped with an income tax demand notice for `13 crore, GCDA has decided to take up the issue at the national level. A meeting of development authorities will be convened to discuss the issue.
“Currently, we are paying `75 lakh each month to the Income Tax Department. This is posing a threat while planning development projects. A solution needs to be found. We hope to conduct the meeting by May,” GCDA chairman C N Mohanan said.
Laser show to go ticketless
If all goes according to plan, GCDA will throw open the now defunct laser show facility at Rajendra Maidan to the general public for free. An agency will be assigned the task of operating it.
“We have no funds to operate it as already Rs 4 crore has been utilised during the tenure of the last governing council,” the GCDA chairman said.
“The plan is to spend money only on repair work. Agencies will be invited for operating it and their advertisements will be displayed in the area.” GCDA has also decided to collect arrears from shop owners at Marine drive and the JNI Stadium premises. “As per the estimate, the shop owners have arrears of `2.62 crore. A similar situation prevails at Marine Drive where shop owners are yet to pay the arrears. We will take steps to collect the amount,” said Mohanan.